Ed Sheeran took to the Pyramid Stage this evening all by himself, no mean feat at all.

The singer-songwriter started out with recent smash hit Castle on the Hill which fits in well with the Glastonbury Festival vibe.

A song set in the country, for those soaking in great music in the heart of the Somerset countryside.

He started out his set admitting he was battling the nerves. It’s hardly surprising when he’s in front of thousands all by himself.

He paused to speak to the crowd, saying: "Glastonbury, how are you doing?"

"I have to admit, I'm very nervous, but I'm very excited, very excited."

Fans of Ed Sheeran hold lights up around the Pyramid Stage on the last day of Glastonbury Festival (Image: SWNS)

You couldn’t fault his energy, especially as all eyes were on him. Previous headliners Radiohead and Foo Fighters are a team. You have a whole bunch of people to look at and analyse. Here you’ve got one young man trying to get a crowd of thousands enthused.

He certainly made the best of it. Encouraging people to sing along, saying everyone had to lose their voice together, choreographing dance moves for the crowd. I didn’t envy the task at hand.

The highlight for me came mid-way through the performance where he brought out a Take It Back / Superstition / Ain't No Sunshine medley which added some uniqueness to his performance. The problem for Sheeran is that he’s so popular now that all his songs have been heard hundreds of times on the radio and in people’s homes. He was always going to struggle to deliver a unique and engaging performance. He needed to add more variety to his tracks and only on a couple of occasions did he do this. It's all well and good saying people will enjoy a sing-a-long, that needs to be balanced by a little live music originality.

Ed Sheeran performs on the Pyramid Stage on the last day of Glastonbury Festival (Image: SWNS)

The crowd was behind him for the start, really invested in what he had to sing. As the performance wore on, however, parts of the crowd grew tired, and so did I to be fair. I’ve heard Shape of You loads now and hearing it live didn’t change things up for me that much.

There was a refreshing moment, aside from that of the aforementioned medley, in the form of Nancy Mulligan. Sheeran invited another band on stage to perform the song with him and it got the crowd dancing and singing. Some had been hoping Taylor Swift or Stormzy might join Sheeran on stage but as he drew closer and closer towards the end of his performance it was looking more and more unlikely.

It was during these moments when the crowd was joining Sheeran for the performance that things were at their most captivating. I always enjoy seeing an artist and their audience in unison. As I said before, it was always going to be difficult for Sheeran to engage the crowd all by himself for almost two hours but he gave it his best shot.

He finished his performance by waving the rainbow flag during his rendition of You Need Me, I Don’t Need You. A song he wrote when he was only 15 years old.

It was a good performance but I doubt it will go down in Glastonbury Festival headliner history. The kind of music Sheeran deals in is more suited to a smaller scale venue, one where you’re up close and personal with the artist.